View Near Sandy Hill (No. 7 of The Hudson River Portfolio) 1822 - 1823

Editor: This is *View Near Sandy Hill*, a watercolor and ink print by John Hill from the early 1820s, part of *The Hudson River Portfolio*. It feels so tranquil, but the more I look at it, the more I sense a certain constructed artifice. What's your take? What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see the deliberate construction of an American Eden, but one rife with contradictions when viewed through a contemporary lens. Look at how this landscape, ostensibly "natural," is actually carefully curated. There's a barely visible figure near the bottom right, seemingly admiring the view. Who is centered in this vista, and who is written out? Editor: That figure is quite small; I almost missed it. What do you mean by "written out"? Curator: Well, consider the Hudson River School's general approach. These images played a key role in constructing a national identity. It's about claiming space, creating a narrative of ownership and progress. Where are the indigenous populations who lived on and stewarded this land? How does this idealized scene contribute to erasure? This image actively participates in constructing a very particular national myth, centering a narrative of white, often masculine, dominion. Editor: So the absence speaks as loudly as what's there. The romantic beauty almost obscures the socio-political context. I see the artificiality more clearly now. Curator: Exactly. The ‘natural’ is a performance, and we must question who is performing, for whom, and at what cost. Considering that is where the real richness and challenge of this piece resides, in its tensions. Editor: I never thought about it that way, but it makes perfect sense. It's much more complex than just a pretty landscape. Curator: Absolutely! Art isn't created in a vacuum.